What Can and Cannot Be Traded in Pokémon GO

Last updated 2026-08-09

Pokémon GO blocks trading for a fixed set of Pokémon: Shadow, every Mythical except Meltan and Melmetal, anything already traded once, and unhatched eggs. Zygarde and Eternatus are also listed as untradeable, though only by community sources. Everything else trades, including Legendary, shiny, Purified and Gigantamax, though in person those consume your single daily Special Trade. Eight more restrictions are reversible states, not permanent bans.

What Pokémon can't be traded in Pokémon GO?

Six things can never be traded: Shadow Pokémon, Mythicals other than Meltan and Melmetal, any Pokémon that has already been traded once, unhatched eggs, and, on community sourcing rather than any Niantic page, Zygarde and Eternatus. Eight more are blocked only by the Pokémon's current state and become tradeable the moment you change it.

The reversible blocks are: your active buddy, a Pokémon defending a gym, a Pokémon placed at a Power Spot or Pokémon Playground, a favourited Pokémon, a Pokémon below full HP, an actively Mega Evolved Pokémon, a Fused Pokémon (Kyurem, Necrozma or Calyrex), and Zacian or Zamazenta in Crowned form. None of those is a ban: un-favourite it, recall it from the gym, heal it, unfuse it, and it reappears in the trade list. The table below covers every category players ask about.

Why can't I trade this Pokémon when it should be tradeable?

It is almost always one of eight reversible states: the Pokémon is your current buddy, defending a gym, placed at a Power Spot or Pokémon Playground, marked as a favourite, below full HP, actively Mega Evolved, currently Fused, or Zacian or Zamazenta in Crowned form. Fix the state and it reappears in the trade list.

If none of those apply, the Pokémon has almost certainly been traded before. The game gives no badge for this on the summary screen; the Pokémon simply never appears when you open the trade menu. Two other causes are about the players, not the Pokémon: you have already used your one Special Trade for the day, or you are not at least Good Friends, which Special Trades require. If you are looking at the Remote Trade tag list rather than the ordinary trade list, add one more cause: the Pokémon was caught in the last 30 days.

Can you trade Shadow Pokémon in Pokémon GO?

No. Shadow Pokémon cannot be traded under any circumstances, and there is no event or friendship level that unlocks it. Purify the Pokémon first and the Purified version is tradeable, but that trade counts as a Special Trade, so it is limited to one per day.

Purification is permanent. It removes the Shadow status and the Shadow damage bonus, so treat it as a one-way conversion rather than a workaround.

Can you trade Mythical Pokémon like Mew, Celebi or Darkrai?

No, with exactly one exception. Every Mythical in Pokémon GO is untradeable, including Mew, Celebi, Jirachi, Darkrai, Deoxys, Arceus, Volcanion, Magearna, Hoopa, Marshadow and Zarude. Meltan and Melmetal are the only Mythicals that can be traded in person, and they count as Special Trades.

The reason for the exception is repeatability. Most Mythicals are one-per-account rewards from Special Research or timed events. Meltan and Melmetal can be farmed repeatedly through the Mystery Box, so Niantic allows them into the trade economy. Remote trading is the open question: Niantic's Remote Trade exclusion list names Mythical Pokémon with no carve-out for Meltan and Melmetal, so whether the pair can be sent remotely is unconfirmed. The in-person exception is not in doubt.

Can you trade the same Pokémon twice?

No. Every Pokémon can be traded exactly once. After a trade it is permanently flagged and will never appear in either player's trade list again. This also means Lucky Pokémon cannot be re-traded, because Lucky status is only ever produced by a trade.

The one-trade limit exists to stop players passing a Pokémon back and forth to reroll its IVs or to fish for a Lucky result. IVs are rerolled on every trade, so without the limit a single Pokémon could be rolled indefinitely.

Which trades count as Special Trades?

Eight things trigger a Special Trade: Legendary, Ultra Beast, Meltan or Melmetal, shiny, Purified, Gigantamax, any Pokémon with a special background, and any Pokémon not already registered in the recipient's Pokedex. You get one Special Trade per day and need at least Good Friends status.

Purified is the one most guides omit, and it also has the weakest sourcing: Bulbapedia and most community guides list a Purified trade as a Special Trade, while Niantic's own trading article does not name Purified at all. This guide follows the majority reading that a Purified trade counts as a Special Trade. Ordinary Dynamax Pokémon do not trigger it, only Gigantamax. Costume and regional forms trigger it only when the recipient has not registered that specific form. Remote Trades never count as Special Trades at all, whatever is exchanged, and what each of these costs is in the Stardust cost guide.

Can you trade Dynamax and Gigantamax Pokémon?

Yes, both. Trading a Max Pokémon resets all of its Max Move levels to 1, though Max Guard and Max Spirit stay unlocked if they already were. Gigantamax Pokémon count as Special Trades; ordinary Dynamax Pokémon do not.

The Max Move reset is the cost that catches people out. Max Particles spent levelling a Max Move are not refunded, the reset cannot be prevented, and the receiving player starts from level 1. Two secondary guides summarising Niantic's Max Pokémon help page also report that you must keep at least one Max Pokémon in storage, so the last one cannot be traded away; that help page returns 403 to automated fetches, so treat it as reported rather than confirmed.

What can't be traded remotely?

Remote trading applies every normal restriction plus one extra: Pokémon caught in the last 30 days cannot be traded remotely. Remote Trades also never count as Special Trades, whatever you exchange, so sending a shiny or Legendary remotely does not use your daily Special Trade.

The 30-day rule is the one that catches people, because it is the only restriction that applies remotely but not in person, and it is the usual reason a Pokémon is missing from the Remote Trade tag list when nothing else about it looks wrong. Everything blocked in the matrix above is blocked remotely too, and the full exclusion list and the mechanics of a Remote Trade, including the friendship thresholds and the 48-hour response windows, are in the remote trading guide. One gap Niantic has not closed: that exclusion list says Mythical with no carve-out, so whether Meltan and Melmetal, the only Mythicals tradeable in person, are exempt is unconfirmed. If you are planning a remote Melmetal trade, assume it may not be possible until you have seen it work.

Where do you find someone to trade with?

Local trades still require both players to be physically in the same place, at Trainer level 10 or above, and on each other's friend list. Remote trading requires becoming Forever Friends at 180 friendship points, earned at up to one per day plus weekly challenges, so most players build partners in advance.

Because friendship points accrue at roughly one a day, a remote trading partner is a months-long relationship rather than a one-off: 180 points is at least 180 days at the base rate. The guide to finding trading partners covers where to look, including local community groups, Discord servers and matching sites such as PoGo Alley.